Indicator flag for funeral cars



March 2 7, 1951 H. D. FRAME 2,546,855

INDICATOR FLAG FOR FUNERAL CARS Filed Ma 10, 1948 FU AL 20 PAM LY Hector 0. Frame INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INDICATOR FLAG FOR FUNERAL CABS Hector D. Frame, Belle, W. Va. 7

Application May 10, 1948, Serial No. 26,082

4 Claims. 1 The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in readily attachable and detachable flags and has reference in particular to a flag which is especially adapted for use on cars employed in funeral processions.

As the introductory statement of the invention implies, funeral designating flags for use on hired and private cars are not new. In many localities it is the practice to use suitably shaped and colored cloth or equivalent flags and to provide holders which are attached in various ways to fenders, car doors and elsewhere. Experience has shown, however, that the flags often become detached and fall olf,"fai1 to display wanted directions effectively, become faded and discolored, require frequent laundering and are otherwise objectionable to both funeral directors and users.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel holder and flag assembly, said flag being of rigid material, such as for instance plastic, being supported and displayed at an advantageous angle for a clear view by motorists approaching the funeral procession, being readily applicable and removable and retained in place with requisite safety to avoid accidental displacement and otherwise amply suited to fulfill the requirements of a reliable indicator fiag.

More specifically, in carrying out the desired principles of the invention, I provide a simple,

operates with the clip and a finger grip which facilitates holding the flag, of a unitary structure, while applying and removing same.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a construction which is highly practical and efficient, which may be securely fastened in place to avoid displacement, which is well balanced and in which the flag portion, being of rigid sheet material, does not become water soaked, will not fade or become distorted in shape, requires no special laundering and which will stay put and assume the desired angular relationship to the side of the car to which it is attached.

Final it is a further object to provide a plastic or equivalent flag with holding means 2 orderly employed for systematic and methodical funeral directing requlrementsf Other objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an automobile showing the improved flag and holder and the manner in which same is, when in use, attached;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the flag and holder as a unitary assemblage;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional and elevational View showing how the holding means is constructed and attached;

Figure 4. is a fragmentary top plan view of Figure 2 with the principal parts omitted.

Reference is had to Figure 2 wherein it will be seen that one of the holding or attaching units is denoted by the numeral 6. U shaped metal clip with one end portion I constructed and adapted to fit in the window groove or channel 8 of the car door 5 as shown in Figure 3. The opposite upstanding end portion l0 serves in conjunction with the flag staff unit ll. As before stated this unit of the structure is preferably formed from a single metal strap, the major upright portion of which constitutes the stafi' l2. The upper end of the staff is axial! twisted and bent, as at it, and the longitudinal half-portions are then bent upon themselves, as at it, to define flanges between which the flag it is riveted or otherwise fastened, as at H. The flag may be of any appropriate dimensions and is preferably of comparatively rigid selfsustaining and shape retaining plastic. The flag has displayed thereon suitable designations such as at 8 and H3. The designation I3 is usually the word Funeral. The other designation I9 will change and vary on the different flags and will serve to designate a Family car, car for close relatives, pall bearers, flower bearers, etc. Incidentally, I am aware that it is common practice to use with appropriate designations to assist in funeral directing and to aid pall bearers and others to readil select the car which has been placed at their disposal. Therefore, I am primarily interested in the rigidity of the flag rather than the designation displayed thereon and also in. the mode in which the flag is attached to the staff so that when the staff is applied on the car, the flag will take an approximate 45 angle at an elevation above the usual body 2!} of the car. The lower end portion of the staff is This is a simple cent laterally as at 2| and the adjacent portions are bent upon themselves, as at 22, to define spaced coacting portions 23 and 24 which together provide a finger grip and assist in handling the unit I I The free end portion of the metal strap is bent upon itself to provide an inverted substantially U-shaped adaptor clamp 25 having a hook. 26 to engage over the lip flange of the door 9 and to be clamped between said flange and the body of the car as shown in Figure 3. This clamp 25 is rubber covered as at 2? to serve as a cushioning protector. Said clamp 25 is attached to a horizontal web 28 and the several parts 23, 24 and iii are securely riveted together as at 29.

In practice the yieldable and accommodating fingeror limb l of the U-clip 6 i fixed and snapped into the groove 8 of the door frame, the window (not shown) being lowered for the purpose. Since the limb '1 is comparatively thin, the window may be raised and thus substantially closed if the occasion requires closing. The hook 26 of the U-clamp 25 is engaged over the lip flange 30 of the car door as shown in Figure 3 where it may be securely held when the door is closed. The finger gripping means, parts 23 and 24, may be, and preferably is, laterally offset in respect to parts 6 and 25, to facilitate holding the entire structure while applying and removing same. Once in place, the structure is securely held and the flag is situated at a point of vantage and at a suitable angle for eifective display and signalling purposes.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the invention as illustrated in the drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding and impression of the alleged features of merit and novelty sufficient to clarify the construction of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Minor changes in shape, size, materials and rearrangement of parts may be resorted to in actual practice so long as no departure is made from the invention as claimed.

7 Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An indicator flag for funeral cars comprising a flag staff, a substantially rigid flag 'flxed connected with said stafif solely through the medium of said finger-grip and being at right angles to and thus oifset in a position opposite to the staff to permit the stafi to be disposed perpendicularly to said body, and a holding unit occupying a position beneath said adapter clamp and locatedalongside of the finger-grip'and adapted to be connected with the stated door.

2. The structure specified in claim 1 wherein said holding unit is in the form of a resilient U-shaped metal clip embodying spaced limbs connected by a bight portion, one limb being adapted to engage the stated door, the other limb being riveted to said finger-grip.

3. An indicator flag for funeral cars comprising a flag staff having means at its lower end for attachment of said staff to an automobile door or the like, the upper end portion of said staif having spaced parallel flanges and said flanges being axially offset, a rigid indicator flag having one end portion secured between said flanges, the lower end of said staff being provided with an outstanding laterally angled finger-grip and further provided with a U-shaped adapter clamp which is connected at one end with the fingergrip and which is adapted to be saddled over an edge portion of said door, and a U-shaped spring metal clip alongside of the finger-grip and underlying said clamp and having one end portion fas tened to said staff, the opposit end portion being free for connection with the stated automobile door.

4-. An indicator flag for funeral cars comprising an inverted U-shaped adapter clamp adapted to be saddled over an edge portion of an automobile door, one end portion of said clamp being provided with an outstanding web, a flag staff having oifset flanges at an upper end and a laterally offset finger-grip at its lower end, said finger-grip being connected with said web, a rigid flag having one end portion mounted between said flanges, and a resilient U-shaped clip arranged alongside of said finger-grip and underneath of the adapter clamp and having one end abutting said web and secured to said staff.

HECTOR. D. FRAME.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 877,935 Lyon Feb. 4, 1908 1,861,148 Withrow May 31, 1932 2,445,605 Davis July 20, 1948 

